hoveland



March 10, 1 J. c. HOVELAND SANDER Filed Aug. 6, 1962 INVUJTOR ATTOR 1 United States Patent 3,123,946 SANDER Julian Cleo'n Hoveland, 9707 149th St., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Filed Aug. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 215,017 1 Claim. (Cl. 51-186) This invention relates generally to sanders and particularly to improvements to sanders for joints in dry wall plaster, and the like.

In dry wall plastering it is necessary to sand over previously taped and plastered joints between two dry wall panels and, since this joint may be either on a ceiling or a wall, it is customary to do the sanding with a sanding plate attached to a long handle.

In prior devices of this nature attempts have been made to connect the handle to the sanding plate so that the handle connection is as close to the plate as possible and thereby try and eliminate the tendency for the plate to tip over under pressure.

In attempting to connect the handle as closely as possible to the plate, it has been the practice to form the plate with an opening completely therethrough so that the handle end can operate in the opening without hitting the plate. While this has been satisfactory in that the universal connection of the handle with the plate has been made as close to the plate as seemed possible, the opening through the plate left a weak point in the sandpaper surface and it was not uncommon for the sandpaper to tear at this weak point and ruin the finish that was being sanded. In addition, it was necessary to stop frequently to replace torn or otherwise damaged sandpaper and, as a result, such sanding plates were not acceptable and were not widely used.

To overcome the above and other difliculties inherent in sanding plates of this type I have provided a plate that has no opening and wherein the handle is connected to the plate with the universal connection of the handle to the plate closer to the plate than has been possible hereto fore, and still operable through its complete range of movement with respect to the plate without hitting the plate.

In broadly descriptive terms I have provided a plate having a depression on one side of the plate and with a universal connection for a handle. I have provided a handle connecting block attached pivotally to the sanding plate to extend across the depression and wherein the handle is connected pivotally to the block with the pivotal connection of the handle being at right angles to the pivotal connection of the block to the plate. With this construction I do not require the large forked ends and swivels normally connected with a universal attachment as found in prior devices of this nature and the depression in the one side of the sanding plate has been found sufficient to accommodate the normal swinging action of the handle attaching block and the handle during operation of the sander.

In drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment:

FIG. 1 is a projected view of this device showing the pivotal connection of the handle to the block and the block to the sanding plate.

3,123,946 Patented Mar. 10, 1964 FIG. 2 is a broken away side elevation partly in section to illustrate the relative movement of the handle with respect to the plate and the clearance of the attachment block in the depression.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the handle attaching block and axle.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 and illustrating the transverse handle connecting pin.

As seen in the drawings my device comprises the sanding plate 1 which preferably is rectangular in form and relatively thin with relation to its length and width.

Sponge rubber or other suitable material is attached to the bottom of the plate 1 and a sheet of sandpaper may be stretched over the sponge rubber bottom 2 and folded over the ends 4 and 5 of the block where it is secured by the clamps 6 and 7. The clamps 6 and 7 are secured to the plate 1 by bolts 8 and wing nuts 9 as is common in construction of this sort.

The plate 1 is formed at its opposite or top side with the depression 10 which may be circular in form and located substantially centrally of the plate 1 between the longitudinal strengthening ribs 11 and 12. The strengthening ribs 11 and 12 are each formed at their centre into a boss 13 and the bosses 13 are spaced diametrically across the depression 10. The handle 14 is bifurcated at its one end and is connected pivotally at the bifurcated end to the connecting pin 15 in the handle connecting block 16. The block 16 is connected to the plate 1 through the axle 17 which extends longitudinally through the block 16 and projects at opposite ends of the block 16 for rotatable mounting in the bosses 13. As best seen in FIG. 3 in the drawings, the axis of the connecting pin 15 is substantially at right angles to the long axis of the axle 17 and is below the axis of the axle 17. As well, the axle 17 is off-set from the centre of the block 16 and when the block is mounted between the bosses 13 the axle 15 will lie below the axle 17 and consequently the rotatable attachment of the handle 14 will be at the maximum lowered point with respect to the plate 1.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

A sander for dry wall plaster joints comprising a rigid rectangular plate having a bottom sanding material supporting surface, said surface being substantially plane and uninterrupted throughout its extent, said plate having a top surface, and a depression in said top surface, said depression having its entire wall surface in spaced relation to said bottom surface, a pair of opposed bosses on said top surface, a block journalled in said bosses and having an axis of rotation bridging said depression, a handle having one end pivotally connected to said block and having a pivotal axis disposed at right angles to said axis of rotation and between said axis of rotation and the adjacent extremity of said handle end, said handle extremity being receivable in said depression.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,059 Ames June 21, 1955 

